Filled

With only 12 days left of our summer, I've decided it is of utmost importance to fill our days up with all our favorite things.



Like cooking from the garden... today we made 5 jars of pesto.



Along with a huge batch of zucchini soup.



Grace and Jackson got some quality outside in their underwear time.



We laid on a blanket and watched hundreds of huge dragon flies dance over our heads.



And tonight as we sat down to dinner I marveled at the fact that almost everything on the table came from our garden.



We are going to have to make sure we include time for melon eating in our last summer days too...

One On One Time With My Girl

Oh dear did Grace wake up on the wrong side of the bed today. It was bad. Thankfully, my mom stayed over last night (since Ryan was out of town) and offered to take Jackson off for some of his own one on one time. I got to keep the crabby girl for myself.



But, as I suspected, this was just what she needed. Some carrot cake baking and some mama time.

Beautiful Beach Day

This may have been one of my favorite days ever at the beach.


It was so warm... but there was also this great "sea" breeze.


We had a picnic...


and played in the sand.


And then to our surprise our friends showed up... and we had the whole beach to ourselves.


It was even warm enough that Jackson wanted to swim.

I need to squeeze at least one more of these days into my summer.

Gathering...

We've been gathering...


and eating.


Gathering...


and cooking.


Gathering...


and baking.


Gathering


and enjoying...

more tomato soup
midget melons
watermelons
pesto
zucchini bread
pumpkin muffins
carrot cake

And there's so much more to do. Loving this harvest season.

A Special Visit...

From Aunty Nicole and cousin Carver.

Mammoth

This year I thought it would be fun to grow Russian Mammoth sunflowers. They can grow up to 14 feet which at the time seemed impossible to me.



But let me just say... these sunflowers are mammoth. Huge. So big it seems as though you could climb them. A perfect image for the introduction of this book.

Pesto

2 cups of loose basil leaves
2 tbsp of pine nuts
1/2 cup of olive oil
1/2/ cup of parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

Blend everything together.

A Vacuum...

Also makes a great horse.

How to Make Tomato Soup

1. Gather some tomatoes, basil and onions.


2. Chop and place in a large pot. Start cooking.


3. Don't forget to wear your apron.


4. There will be time to fold the laundry while it's simmering.


5. Turn off heat. Eat. Or in this case cool and pour in jars.

Real recipe here.

34

Homemade cards
French toast for breakfast
My mom stopped for lunch
Got my hair cut
Went out to dinner (fam + Katie & Kris)
A Great birthday

Hi Ho Hi Ho

Off to get tomatoes I go.



I am loving tomato season this year. I love going to collect them. I love finding new recipes to make with them. I love the way my hands smell after I get done cooking with them.



And I of course love eating them.

Weekend

Garden Meals

I am having so much fun making meals from our garden this year.
(Although I'm not sure the rest of the family was as enthusiastic about this one. Thankfully they humored me).

The Fair

We met some of our good friends at the fair today. So much fun the fair is. Especially little ones like this. We listened to some music, ate ice cream, watched a log rolling competition and went on some rides. I think the highlight for me was the four of us on the ferris wheel. I was so surprised how much Grace and Jackson enjoyed it (and weren't the slightest bit scared). We decided that we definitely want to make this an annual tradition.

Farm Mornings

While I of course love going on vacation. I also love being home. I think I am especially appreciating that now, as I know our vacations are done for the year. It feels really good to get back into the rhythm of things.


This morning shortly after we finished breakfast Grace and Jackson ran outside in their underwear. It was such a beautiful morning I couldn't very well make them come back in just to put their clothes on. So as I worked on the gardens, the two of them ran around having underwear adventures (I should add that Jackson is not yet potty trained but he likes to practice).

At one point they ran a little out of my comfort zone, so I trekked along after them. As I was walking... and enjoying the warm sun and the smell of the morning breeze... I had one of those moments. One of those fully present in awe of my life moments. One of those I couldn't be happier moments. Here I was, on this beautiful day, working in my gardens on my farm. And here my kids are, running around freely in their underwear, on their farm, completely oblivious to how great that is because it is just a normal part of their life.

I made sure to stop and breathe it all in.

I love those kind of moments.